Tiny Itachi
by Tay13
Summary: His father's mounting pressure getting to him, little Itachi decides to take a walk outside of the village without telling anyone. Unfortunately, he falls into a trap and is discovered by two little ninja from a village Itachi's never heard over. Will they let him go home or will Itachi be their prisoner forever?
1. Chapter 1 Little Itachi's Field-trip

Chapter One:

Little Itachi's Field-trip Gone Wrong

Six-year-old Itachi walked through the forest carrying his pack. He knew he shouldn't leave the village, but the overwhelming pressure he was feeling from his father got to him sometimes and he needed time to himself. Both his parents where in a long meeting with the clan leaders, so he thought this would be a good time to get away. Packing up his rug sack he'd snuck out of the village and decided he would keep walking until he calmed down. He kept his weapons easily accessible. _Shisui would get mad at me if he knew I was doing this, I should bring him back something, so he won't tell on me._

The sun's light lit up the forest and created vibrant colors in all shades of green, Itachi stopped to admire the different colored fauna. _I bet you don't have to think too hard about things do you? Life must be pretty quiet._ He walked farther into the forest amazed at all the plants growing that he hadn't seen in the village. _I wonder what you're called?_ He bent down next to a shockingly blue flower. _Is it poisonous? Would it make Shisui happy?_ He backed up from the flower as he contemplated how to preserve it and get it back home. The ground cracked beneath his feet and before he could react; the earth opened up pulling him into its depths. Scrambling he pulled out his kunai and dug them into the wall slowing his descent. He hit the bottom of the pit hard, his knee buckled and he collapsed to the ground as pain shot through his leg.

Tearing up he turned over and squinted at his leg in the semidarkness, his ankle was turning purple and swelling up. When he tried to stand and put pressure on it he cried out in pain. His heart pound in his ears as he looked around at where he was, the walls of the pit were smooth and looked man made. _Is this a trap?_ The pit was too high up for him to climb out and with his ankle the way it was he didn't think he could scale it. _Oh, no… What do I do now? No one knows I'm out here._ He quickly wiped away the tears that tried to pour out of his eyes.

"There's no way you caught something!"

"You don't know that."

"I bet it was a rabbit."

"Well, then we can have it for dinner tonight."

Itachi looked up at the voices coming from the hole; two little faces peaked over the top down at him.

"Hey look—" The little girl pointed at Itachi. "—I caught a boy."

The little boy frowned at her. "Great, what now?"

"Can I keep him? He's cute?"

Itachi gaped up at them confused.

The little boy sighed. "I fear for your future husband."

She punched him in the arm. "I've decided. I'm keeping him." She grinned down at Itachi.

Itachi felt his stomach drop. He was regretting leaving the village; Shisui would never let him hear the end of this.


	2. Chapter 2 Annabell and Gido

Chapter Two:

Annabell and Gido

"So, how do we get him out without him running away?" The boy's voice floated down to Itachi.

 _Oh, no._ Itachi scanned his surroundings looking for an escape, when he stood up his leg buckled and he hissed in pain. He heard a loud thump and looked up to find a small girl with long chocolaty brown hair staring down at him with mischievous blue eyes. She looked to be about his age, maybe a little younger.

"He really is cute!" The girl shouted back up the hole.

"You crazy… crazy… girl!" The boy shouted down at her. "Why did you jump down there?"

Itachi pulled out his weapon readying himself to fight, the girl took notice and her smile widened. He waited for her to do something, but she only stood there smiling before turning to inspect the pit.

"Ah, I really did good this time. It's near impossible to get out of this pit." The girl puffed up her chest proudly.

"Great!" The boy shouted down at her. "So, how do you plan to get out?"

"I said _near_ impossible!" The girl shouted up at the boy and puffed out her cheeks before returning her attention to Itachi. "What's your name?"

Itachi kept his mouth shut, he couldn't give her any information she could use against him or his village.

"I'm Annabell and that's Gido." The girl pointed up at the boy.

Itachi blinked. _Did she really just introduce herself?_

"Hey, Annabell you're not supposed to introduce yourself to the enemy!" Gido shouted down at her angrily.

"He's not an enemy. I'm keeping him, so he's mine now. It would be hard to talk to one another if we didn't know each other's names," Annabell retorted.

 _She can't be serious right now, can she?_ Itachi tried to inch back, but his foot throbbed making him flinch. The girl notice and looked down at his leg.

"That looks painful." She tried to walk over to him, but stopped when he held out his kunai at the ready. "I'm not going to hurt you."

She dug around in her tool bag at her side and held up bandages. Itachi wondered if he could take her down and capture her, maybe he could get the boy above to free him? A blur flashed his way, he tensed. _Huh?_ Wind whistled through his ears and he hit the wall, he slid to the ground his head aching. The girl stood over him grinning excitedly.

"Wow. You actually reacted a bit. I'm impressed." She bent down next to him. "I didn't think anyone outside of our village could react to me."

"Annabell, stop revealing things!" Gido chided her.

"What's it matter? I'm keeping him," Annabell pouted. Itachi tried to ready his kunai again when he realized he didn't have it. The girl held it up in her hand. "Looking for this?"

 _When did she?_ Itachi sat stunned, she'd disarmed him in an instant and he hadn't even noticed. _This isn't good. I need to escape._

"Annabell, Gido, stop tormenting the poor boy." A woman's voice came from the top of the hole. Someone jumped down in the hole with them, and Itachi froze. The pressure emanating from this person made sweat break out on his forehead. He unintentionally held his breath. "You can sense that? Interesting."

A tall woman with long flowing black hair tied up into a ponytail stood up and gazed down at them. She wore all black and a headband with a diamond shape. _What village is that?_

"Edora! Can I keep him?" Annabell pointed excitedly to Itachi.

Itachi's heart pounded in his ears as the woman walked over to them; she stared down at him with sharingan eyes.

"Sharingan…" Itachi quickly covered his mouth realizing what he'd said.

The woman chuckled. "I should have figured. We have a little Uchiha on our hands. Hmm, sounds good. Annabell, bandage him up and bring him back to the village. Gido, go get a room ready for our guest."

She turned and with one jump leaped out of the hole. Itachi could hear Gido grumbling at the top of the hole, but he and the woman left. Itachi stared at the girl they'd left in the hole with him. _Can I take her? That scary woman didn't seem to think I could or she wouldn't have left her down here with me._ Annabell reached over and touched his ankle; he sucked in air between his teeth. Gently the little girl took off his sandal and bandaged his foot, Itachi felt calmer than he would have figured.

"Edora's a little scary isn't she?" The girl chatted as she bound his foot.

Itachi mumbled a question under his breath.

"What?" The girl looked up at him eagerly.

"What village… are you from?" Itachi spoke up.

The girl put her finger on her lip and thought about her answer, "Well, I'm from a place far far off the map. I don't think even if I told you the name that you wouldn't know where it is."

"Your name is weird," Itachi muttered.

"I get that a lot. My dad was from the land of fire and my mom is from where I was talking about. So, they made my name represent both places. Anna and bell then combined it, but I think that's actually really neat." She chattered on. "Oh, but I'm supposed to be here training with Edora. So, right now I live in her village. It's the Edori village. It's small and a lot of the people there don't have mothers or fathers, but it's like one big family. So, I never feel lonely even though my family's elsewhere. Oh, Gido doesn't have a family. Edora took him in. He doesn't really remember anything either, so don't ask him where he's from. You'll just make him angry."

 _She talks too much…._

"Everyone is really strong in the village. Most people can't touch us. It surprised me when you reacted to my fast attack. You don't seem that much older than me. Oh, I'll be five in a month. Five's a good number; I like it, almost as much as ten. Any more than ten is a little much. Fifteen and twenty is just too many.

"Oh! No one seems to know where our village is at. I asked when I visited a town near here once. The shopkeeper thought I was making it up. I think Edora put up a barrier to hide us. Edora likes it that way. She doesn't bring in new people often, and I think she wants to keep the village a secret. Whenever we get intruders, she takes them out pretty quickly. Oh, but she probably won't kill you. Edora's suuuppper strong and she's pretty. I wish I can be like her when I get older.

"I heard some of the men saying she had a nice body, whatever that means. What does that mean anyway, to have a nice body? Don't people like different things? Like this old man told me once he liked it better when women were curvier, but then this other old guy said he liked it better when women were plump? What do you like?"

"Uh…" _How do I get her to stop speaking?_ He didn't get a chance to answer.

"I don't really get it, but I guess a lot of them prefer how Edora looks. She's kind of curvy, but not—you're a good listener. I like you."

 _Uh… I wish she would stop talking now._ The girl laughed. "What's your name?"

Itachi kept his mouth shut, he'd already accidently revealed he was an Uchiha. He shouldn't reveal anymore. "If you don't tell me your name, I'm going to call you something silly instead."

He looked at her blankly wondering how she thought that was a threat.

"Ok, you're baby bunny now. So, baby bunny, there's this cute little bunny suit I have back at the village. I can dress you up in it and you can hop around." She seemed so excited, then immediately her face fell. "No, that's dumb. Hmm, I'm just going to read your mind instead."

 _What?_ Faster than he could see she reached forward and placed her palm against his head. A strange probing sensation made its way into his thoughts. He slapped her hand away, but she stuck out her tongue at him.

"Itachi, huh? That's cute. Maybe I should call you baby weasel instead. Well, welcome." She leaned forward and planted a small kiss on his cheek. He backed away, his face growing warm. "I don't know how long we'll keep you, but if you stay forever, we can get married. I want ten kids. Ten's a good number."

 _I'm sorry Dad, Mom, Shisui. If I get out of this situation, I'll never leave the village again._


	3. Chapter 3 Edori Village

Chapter 3

Edori Village

"Ok!" Annabell stood up and in a flash grab Itachi's pack and ninja tools.

 _What?_ He looked down at his hip, now bear of its pouch, dumbfounded. If he wanted to get away, he would need those back. Itachi stood using the rock wall to brace himself against. His leg throbbed, but not as much thanks to her first aid.

"You ready?" She asked excitedly, but she was already weaving jutsu signs. Itachi braced himself for an attack. "Hidori: Wind Tunnel."

 _Wind Tunnel_? A powerful wind blasted up from the ground shooting them both upwards and out of the hole… and up and up and up above the trees. Itachi looked down at the ground and his stomach tightened, his heart pounded in his ears. The upward wind stopped. His center of gravity dropped, and he fell back to earth. In a free fall to the ground, the wind bit at his face and made his eyes water. _Am I going to die here?_ Through blurry eyes he could see Annabell weaving more signs, but over the roar of the wind he couldn't hear what she said. Another massive blast of air shot up and slowed their descent to the earth. The jutsu put them gently on the ground.

"That was fun!" Annabell threw up her hands excitedly. Itachi gripped the earth thankful to be on the ground again. "You're sweating a lot. Do you not like heights?"

 _That's not the problem!_ Annabell walked over to him and looked at his leg. She snapped her fingers in realization. Weaving more signs, Itachi's face fell, afraid of what she would do now. He winced when she touched his ankle, but warmth spread into it. _Medical jutsu? How many types of jutsu does she know?_

"Done! It's not fully healed, but you'll be able to walk now," she explained as she dug around in her tool pouch. Itachi stood up prepared to fight, but in a split second she'd closed the distance and bound his hands together with rope. Taking the end of the rope she pulled him along like a wagon. "Come on! It will be dinner soon and tonight is curry!"

Itachi said nothing as she dragged him along. Behind her back he tried to untie the ropes to no avail. She'd bound him tight. Soon they reach a tall cliff and a tunnel that led through it. She pulled him into the dimly lit space and continued down a manmade path. Torches flickered in wall brackets and lit their way. Inching forward he aimed to pickpocket one of her kunai and free himself. His fingers brushed the side of the pouch and she spun around. Itachi froze as they stared at one another in the dark.

"Like Edora says, keep your hands to yourself Itachi-chan," she scolded him with a smile and spun back around.

Having failed at pick-pocketing he waited. His chance would come, hopefully. They exited the large tunnel and Itachi's mouth dropped. The cliff went downwards like steps and opened onto a forest and a sparkling lake. Houses littered the cliff side and the valley below. It was a breathtaking sight and for a moment he stood at the top staring at the spectacle.

"Pretty isn't it?" Annabell asked. He looked away from her. "Let's get going."

Annabell led him down the steps to the bottom. On their way down he noticed kids peeking out of the windows staring at him. An old man sat outside on the porch of one house.

"Who have you got there A-chan?" The old man chuckled when he saw Itachi being dragged behind her. "You know there are easier ways to catch yourself a boyfriend."

"Hi, Jiji. This way was pretty easy," Annabell jerked on Itachi's ropes.

"Ho ho, if you say so. Careful young one, this one's feisty. Getting involved with her may be something you must deal with your whole life." The old man winked at Itachi who didn't respond, he would not fall for anymore traps. Over friendliness could be a trap too.

Itachi grit his teeth as Annabell continued leading him downward until they made it to the bottom of the cliff. A large traditional house sat at the edge of the village, Annabell dragged him over to it. Edora was lazing out on the porch reading a book.

"Oh, you finally made it." She flipped a page of the novel and chuckled. "I figured you would have been here sooner A-chan."

Annabell puffed up her cheeks and pointed a finger in Itachi's face. "I could have been here sooner, but I had to stay on guard. This one's sneaky."

"That's high praise coming from you." Edora sat up and crossed her legs. "So, little Uchiha. Come, sit and talk with me. I want to discuss some things with you."

Itachi got the feeling he couldn't refuse her invitation. Annabell untied his ropes and skipped away into the house. Slowly and carefully Itachi made his way up onto the porch. He sat down with his legs beneath him in the traditional style.

"Your family must be strict or high class to make a child sit that way." Edora seemed disappointed. Itachi said nothing, but took in his surroundings looking for a way to escape. "What is your name?"

He kept his mouth shut, but Annabell popped her head out of a side door and exposed him. "It's baby weasel-chan."

Edora chuckled. "So, Itachi-chan. Also, Annabell I told you not to read people's minds. You're not practiced enough to use that jutsu."

"Poo, I didn't dig far," she retorted and made a fishy face.

"On to your chores," Edora commanded her.

Annabell's face fell. "Fiiiinnne." The little girl skipped off into the house, Itachi could hear a loud banging.

Edora looked at him quizzically. "Itachi, huh?"

Itachi's muscles tightened, how was he going to get away? The older woman seemed thoughtful. "Are you fond of stories Itachi-chan?"

He kept his mouth sealed; this woman would not get another peep out of him. _Tall cliffs, guarded by houses and ninja, and an encircled valley, it won't be easy to escape. Plus, this woman who's emitting enough power to rival the third hokage…_

"Thinking of running away?" Edora raised an eyebrow and half smiled. Itachi froze wondering if she could read minds too. "No. I can't read minds, but faces are easy. Before you go, let me tell you a story and ask you something."

Itachi's brow furrowed in confusion, he couldn't help but ask, "Before I go?"

Edora laughed. "I will not take the life of a little boy who wandered into the wrong place, especially not an Uchiha. _I_ at least don't want you dead."

He couldn't understand what she was playing at, but she wasn't tricking him. _How do I get home without them following me back?_

"To ease your fear, I don't intend to follow you back to the leaf village. I don't have need of them… yet." Edora's statement made the color drain from his face. "So, before you go home let me tell you a story."

Itachi swallowed and took a risk. "What about?"

She smiled. "It's an old story of spirits and demons, but mostly of Uchihas. It's also a story of how the world almost ended."

Itachi sat up a little straighter, there was something about the way she spoke that made him uneasy.

"I have your attention? Good, then let's start. A thousand years ago…"


	4. Chapter 4 Spirits

Chapter 4

Spirits

"A thousand years ago when the world was divided by clan lines a few of those clans were stronger than others. One clan was the Uchiha clan, but one man stood above the rest. His name was Uchiha Sekai, in him the sharingan was stronger and more potent. It was said he could change a person's thoughts, _permanently_. He was a genius, but they could hardly call him sane. History has blurred the lines, and it's unsure when his idea of power deviated from that of his clan's. Power to him was something grander than just conquering the world or proving he was the strongest. He wanted to control the spirits.

"For this part of the story I have to go back a little further. Spirits exist. I'm not talking about the nine-tail beasts, but spirits that are born from the land itself. At one point in history these spirits walked the earth freely, but Uchiha Sekai changed that. He hunted and controlled the spirits with his sharingan. Unleashing these spirits onto the humanity and his own clan, he nearly caused untold devastation in the form of plagues, natural disasters, etc. There are still remnants rooming the earth and causing unexplained diseases. The people feared someone had cursed the land. They prayed to the spirits to appease their anger and calm their rage, but the spirits could not answer their call because they could not control themselves.

"For a time it seemed Sekai would control both the spirits and humans, but he was ignorant of what he possessed. How can one man control the spirits that breathe with the very earth itself? You see there is a flip-side to this world. It exists here, but also on a separate plane. Riffs will sometimes connect these two worlds. The older spirits that Sekai controlled still had relatives residing on the other plane. This was his downfall.

"Did you know? The origin of chakra comes from a fruit eaten by a woman named Kaguya. She passed that Chakara down to her sons. One of those sons was the founder of the Uchihas. However, did no one stop to think where that fruit came from? It came from the spirit plane itself. That fruit was from the garden of two powerful spirits, but the fruit crossed into this world one day.

"Now here's another fascinating question? How did Kaguya obtain the rinnegan which was passed down as the sharingan among normal humans? Simple. The power was in the fruit that came from the spirit world. Kaguya ate this fruit, and the power became embedded into her genetics. Even though Kaguya was from another world, it's not the spirit world I speak off. The spirit world is connected and deeply engrained into this world. As such the spirits from that world can take on a more human form if they feel like it.

"Now back to the main story. The spirits grew restless under Sekai's control, and many grew anger. Spirits do what they want or what they find interesting, so at first some spirits reveled in this new play that Sekai brought them. However, they grew bored and wanted to be released. Of course Sekai didn't understand the true nature of the spirits. Finally, the spirits he controlled asked from help from their homeland, the spirit world. Much to everyone's surprise, the two spirits that the God Fruit, the fruit Kaguya consumed, intervened.

"These spirits are so powerful though they cannot enter this world without causing massive panic, so they sent their youngest children instead. Two sisters. These sisters easily subbed Sekai and freed the spirits, but as is the nature of spirits they can find even the evilest acts entertaining. The older sister was fascinated with Sekai because despite how controlling this man was humans followed him readily. Apparently, he was charismatic. The eldest sister gave him a chance; she would allow someone to revive him if they could perform a certain ritual within a thousand or so years of his death.

"A human would need to preform it, meaning Sekai's followers would need to remain loyal to him that entire time. They have. Sekai's followers have taught through many generations this ritual and they've attempted it hundreds of times, but each time his followers were thwarted. The promise will end soon and then Sekai can never be revived. However, he still has two more chances.

"To revive Sekai, someone must sacrifice one of his descendants before the age of thirteen. He has two direct descends left. Two more lives are still at jeopardy before the promised time is up."

Edora grew silent and gazed out over the small garden that lined the back of her house. The wind rustled the leaves of the cherry blossom tree creating an eerie calm after such a long and foreboding tale. Itachi had sat there listening and absorbing her story. Now that she was finished with her story, he'd concluded something. _This woman's out of her mind._

"It's hard to believe isn't it?" Edora didn't look at him when she asked.

Itachi wondered if she wanted an honest answer or if the best course of action was to stay silent. There was one question that itched at the back of his mind.

"Why… did you tell _me_ this?" He finally asked.

Edora turned to him and smiled softly. "You're very intuitive for a child. Not the same way Annabell and Gido are though. Tell me little Uchiha, why do _you_ think I'm telling you this?"

 _Because you're crazy._ "Because you think it has something to do with my clan."

Edora chuckled and leaned on her fist. "It has everything to do with your clan. Yet, why would I reveal this to a six-year-old?"

Itachi tensed up. _She knows my age. How much does she know about me?_

"You think I'm one of the two they need to succeed at the ritual," he replied trying to keep his tone from turning mocking.

Edora smiled sadly and sighed. "You're too smart. I bet you stand out in your class at school."

Itachi kept his mouth shut, but what she said was true. He stood out, and it bothered him. Also, the classes were too easy, and because of that he had his dad teach him extra jutsu. When he got the fireball jutsu right on the first time he tried it, his father expected that perfection every time. Lately his father wanted him to learn harder more complex jutsu. The more he learned the more he stood out in his class and the more jutsu they expected him to master. Sometimes he wished he had someone he could talk to on his level, Shisui didn't always understand. He wished he had someone he could train with and struggle with like a normal kid.

"Would you like to join my village?" Edora's eyes flashed excitedly.

"Eh?" Itachi stared at her shocked, he hadn't been expecting that. "Join your… You want me to betray my village?"

Edora shook her head and laughed. "No, little one. You wouldn't move here, but you'd be allowed to visit and train here."

Itachi's eyes narrowed. _This woman really is off her rocker._

"I promise you that you'd never be bored," Edora offered as if this was a valid reason, her look turned serious. "Also, it would allow me to train you and make sure you're prepared for Sekai's followers when they attack."

Itachi didn't respond, he wouldn't humor or give any more info to this woman.

She watched him carefully before smiling and saying, "Well, you can think on it the next time you come."

 _Next time?_

"Gido!" Edora called and the boy from the hole came out of the house. He'd been frowning at the hole and he was still frowning now like something stuck his face in that position permanently. Now that Itachi could see him up close he noticed that they were about the same age. He was a little taller than Itachi with short, slicked back black hair. The boy's dark eyes scanned over Itachi sizing him up.

"What?" He asked Edora.

"Take him back home or at least as far as he'll let you since he seems to be the paranoid type," Edora instructed.

Gido crossed him arms. "Why? Make Annabell do it."

" _Gido_ ," Edora's eyes narrowed at the boy who sighed.

"Fine. Hurry up," Gido hopped down from the porch and headed down the path. Edora reached inside the house pulling out Itachi's pack and tossing it to him along with his weapons.

"Gido's stronger than you, so don't go attacking anyone," Edora warned Itachi as he checked that all his weapons were in his pouch.

He didn't know if he should refuse to leave now, but he got the feeling if they were letting him, he should go. Itachi stood up and followed Gido back up the cliff steps and through the tunnel. When they reached the outside world Gido stop and turned to him.

"You can get home by yourself," the boy snapped at him. "What does Edora see in you anyway?"

Itachi felt like he was on the receiving end of some weirdly warped jealously but if it would get this boy not to follow him then all the better. Gido said nothing else and went back into the tunnel. Itachi sighed and started home, occasionally stopping to make sure he wasn't being followed. Finally he made it home and went back to his house, the sun had set long ago and the moon was nearing its peak. He opened the door to his house and tried to sneak in. No luck.

"Itachi!" His mother grabbed him and pulled him into a hug, tears pouring out of her eyes. "Where have you been?"

His father stood behind his mother his eyes creased with worry.

"I'm sorry. I went for a walk and fell in a hole then…" Itachi paused. _Wait, where was I today?_ Past the hole and returning home he couldn't remember. It was like he was missing a chunk of the day. "I don't remember."

His mother and father looked at each other concerned. She felt his head for bumps to see if he'd hit it when he fell.

"I'm sorry…" He felt awful for making them worry. _Where was I? Why can't I remember?_

"Itachi let me check something." His father kneeled down in front of him and activated his sharingan. Itachi could feel his father's gaze scanning him, but his father must have found nothing strange because he shook his head. He patted Itachi's head.

"Don't stay out so late again, we were worried something happened."

His father never really scolded him like how the older kids' dads do.

"Yes, sir."

"Go wash up and I'll fix something for you. I'm sure your starving," his mother shooed him away.

Itachi paused on his way to the bathroom and went into his little brother's room where he was fast asleep. He took his little hand in his; he didn't know why, but he felt concerned and had need to checkup on Sasuke. His little brother's tiny fingers curled around his, but he slept soundly unaware of the world and its problems.


End file.
